Ecological correlates of elevational range shifts in tropical birds

Globally, birds have been shown to respond to climate change by shifting their elevational distributions. This phenomenon is especially prevalent in the tropics, where elevational gradients are often hotspots of diversity and endemism. Empirical evidence has suggested that elevational range shifts are far from uniform across species, varying greatly in the direction (upslope vs. downslope) and rate of change (speed of elevational shift). However, little is known about the drivers of these variable responses to climate change, limiting our ability to accurately project changes in the future. Here, we compile empirical estimates of elevational shift rates (m/yr) for 421 bird species from eight study sites across the tropics. On average, species shifted their mean elevations upslope by 1.63 ± 0.30 m/yr, their upper limits by 1.62 m ± 0.38 m/yr, and their lower limits by 2.81 ± 0.42 m/yr. Upslope shift rates increased in smaller-bodied, less territorial species, whereas larger species were more likely to shift downslope. When considering absolute shift rates, rates were fastest for species with high dispersal ability, low foraging strata, and wide elevational ranges. Our results indicate that elevational shift rates are associated with species’ traits, particularly body size, dispersal ability, and territoriality. However, these effects vary substantially across sites, suggesting that responses of tropical montane bird communities to climate change are complex and best predicted within the local or regional context

Evaluating the potential for the environmentally sustainable control of foot and mouth disease in Sub-Saharan Africa

Strategies to control transboundary diseases have in the past generated unintended negative consequences for both the environment and local human populations. Integrating perspectives from across disciplines, including livestock, veterinary and conservation sectors, is necessary for identifying disease control strategies that optimise environmental goods and services at the wildlife-livestock interface. Prompted by the recent development of a global strategy for the control and elimination of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), this paper seeks insight into the consequences of, and rational options for potential FMD control measures in relation to environmental, conservation and human poverty considerations in Africa. We suggest a more environmentally nuanced process of FMD control that safe-guards the integrity of wild populations and the ecosystem dynamics on which human livelihoods depend while simultaneously improving socio-economic conditions of rural people. In particular, we outline five major issues that need to be considered: 1) improved understanding of the different FMD viral strains and how they circulate between domestic and wildlife populations; 2) an appreciation for the economic value of wildlife for many African countries whose presence might preclude the country from ever achieving an FMD-free status; 3) exploring ways in which livestock production can be improved without compromising wildlife such as implementing commodity-based trading schemes; 4) introducing a participatory approach involving local farmers and the national veterinary services in the control of FMD; and 5) finally the possibility that transfrontier conservation might offer new hope of integrating decision-making at the wildlife-livestock interface

Toward conservational anthropology: addressing anthropocentric bias in anthropology

Anthropological literature addressing conservation and development often blames 'conservationists' as being neo-imperialist in their attempts to institute limits to commercial activities by imposing their post-materialist eco-ideology. The author argues that this view of conservationists is ironic in light of the fact that the very notion of 'development' is arguably an imposition of the (Western) elites. The anthropocentric bias in anthropology also permeates constructivist ethnographies of human-animal 'interactions,' which tend to emphasize the socio-cultural complexity and interconnectivity rather than the unequal and often extractive nature of this 'interaction.' Anthropocentrism is argued to be counteractive to reconciling conservationists' efforts at environmental protection with the traditional ontologies of the interdependency of human-nature relationship

Forest area, fragmentation and loss in the Eastern Arc Mountains: Implications for the conservation of biological diversity

An understanding of forest area, fragmentation and loss is central to developing strategies to conserve biological diversity in the Eastern Arc Mountains. Using recent 1:250,000 land cover and use maps (Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, 1996) and 1:250,000 and 1:500,000 topographic maps, I examine natural forest area, fragmentation, and loss in the Eastern Arc Mountains. I estimate the maximum total area of natural forest, open as well as closed forest, in the Eastern Arc Mountains is 5,340 km2. The remaining natural forest in the Eastern Arc Mountains is highly fragmented. The median patch size is 10.2 km2, and the mean patch size is 58.0 km2. Based upon the estimates of various workers, approximately 1,447 km2 of closed forest remains in the Eastern Arc Mountains or 27 % of the remaining natural forest. Comparisons of the current to prehistoric forest cover suggest that 77 % of the original forest has been lost over the last approximately 2,000 years. Journal of East African Natural History Vol. 87 (1&2) 1998: pp. 29-3

Evidence for the Historical Occurence of Klipspringer and Mountain Reedbuck on Kilimanjaro: Reply to Grimshaw, Cordeiro and Foley

Journal of East African Natural History Vol. 85 (1&2) 1996: 81-8

Environmentally and behaviourally mediated co-occurrence of functional traits in bird communities of tropical forest fragments

Two major theories of community assembly - based on the assumption of 'limiting similarity' or 'habitat filtering', respectively - predict contrasting patterns in the spatial arrangement of functional traits. Previous analyses have made progress in testing these predictions and identifying underlying processes, but have also pointed to theoretical as well as methodological shortcomings. Here we applied a recently developed methodology for spatially explicit analysis of phylogenetic meta-community structure to study the pattern of co-occurrence of functional traits in Afrotropical and Neotropical bird species inhabiting forest fragments. Focusing separately on locomotory, dietary, and dispersal traits, we tested whether environmental filtering causes spatial clustering, or competition leads to spatial segregation as predicted by limiting similarity theory. We detected significant segregation of species co-occurrences in African fragments, but not in the Neotropical ones. Interspecific competition had a higher impact on trait co-occurrence than filter effects, yet no single functional trait was able to explain the observed degree of spatial segregation among species. Despite high regional variability spanning from spatial segregation to aggregation, we found a consistent tendency for a clustered spatial patterning of functional traits among communities in fragmented landscapes, particularly in non-territorial species. Overall, we show that behavioural effects, such as territoriality, and environmental effects, such as the area of forest remnants or properties of the landscape matrix in which they are embedded, can strongly affect the pattern of trait co-occurrence. Our findings suggest that trait-based analyses of community structure should include behavioural and environmental covariates, and we here provide an appropriate method for linking functional traits, species ecology and environmental conditions to clarify the drivers underlying spatial patterns of species co-occurrence